Achieving success with a data governance initiative goes beyond upgrading technology and hoping people will use it — it involves a cultural shift. Any data initiative, whether it’s governance, preparing for AI (or governing it) or a core system migration has culture change implications.
FSFP’s Principal Consultant, Becky Lyons, says executive sponsorship is the key factor to supporting data-focused changes effectively. In her Executive Sponsorship for a Data Governance Program article, Becky explores the role sponsorship plays in data governance. She provides insights into how to identify and choose the right executive sponsor and the essential skills required for the role.
What Becky Wants You to Know About Executive Sponsorship
Becky Lyons, Principal Consultant at FSFP
We asked Becky what the one thing she’d impart to someone about executive sponsorship of a data program is. Becky immediately focused on the heart of any data initiative — data governance.
Quit thinking about data governance as a data or technology change. Data governance is a culture change. Culture change requires an active, engaged executive sponsor coalition willing to change the tone and direction of the organization. Data governance exists at the intersection of business, analytics/AI and IT. As such, you need executive sponsor support from all three of those areas visibly championing data governance.
Ready to Harness the Power of Executive Sponsorship?
Becky and our team of experienced data consultants would love to guide you. Contact us to learn more about how FSFP supports our clients in selecting and empowering executive sponsors to support their organization’s critical data initiatives.
Since 2007, First San Francisco Partners has helped data-driven companies navigate people, process, data and technology changes to scale the value of insights — with collaborative data governance at the core.
